Although Washington, D.C., has long played host to the world, it’s never been known as much of a food town—relegated to “big city” offerings such as let’s-make-a-deal steak houses and some international dining. Today, however, a new generation of culturally conscious chefs and restaurateurs is determined to imprint the city with a different culinary identity: its own.

Diners now crave local authenticity, and chefs, taking note, have discovered that D.C. is, make no mistake, a Southern city. It’s smack-dab in a widespread agricultural area and steeped in cast-iron cookery, and it enjoys the bounty of a long growing season through the homesteading arts of curing and preserving. Like its coastal counterparts New Orleans and Charleston, the D.C. area benefits from proximity to a plentiful estuary: the Chesapeake Bay, which produces about 500 million pounds of seafood per year.

Although you can track this community-minded chef movement in the White House Kitchen Garden program and the State Department’s initiative to promote regional American food, it’s more fun to experience D.C.’s sense-of-place cooking firsthand. Meet some of the forces behind Washington’s evolving take on Southern fare.

Local FlavorHomegrown entrepreneurs setting the city’s culinary pace.

Birch & Barley Among Michael Babin’s 12 community-focused restaurants is this New American cooking lodge in Logan Circle where chef Kyle Bailey and his wife, pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac, have perfected a fried chicken-and-doughnut dinner. Upstairs, the ChurchKey bar offers more than 550 beers, such as the Eight Point IPA from Virginia’s Devils Backbone.

RangeAt this 300-seat American food town hall, Top Chef alum Bryan Voltaggio makes everything from salumi to wood-fired flatbread and gives diners open-kitchen views of what’s coming their way. The Maryland native knows every nook and cranny of the region and sources local produce such as Border Springs Farm heritage breed lamb.

Black JackRestaurateur Jeff Black converted the second floor of an old automotive store into this bar-centric crowd-pleaser with weekly Blue Plate specials. The weekly star: Sunday night fried chicken and tender bacon-braised greens.

Markets & ProducersA bumper crop of gifted artisans.

Cowgirl Creamery The Penn Quarter branch of the famous Bay Area cheesemonger, Cowgirl Creamery is a polished, gourmet-style food shop with well-chosen D.C.-centric pantry products, sandwiches to go, and its trademark artisan cheese collection, plus local farmstead selections.

Union MarketAt this brand-new planned culinary community on the site of a historic wholesale market in northeast D.C., you’ll find a metro-mix of artisan makers and food stalls, including Red Apron Butchery, Lyon Bakery, and Trickling Springs Creamery, an organic and all-natural dairy shop.

Penn Quarter Freshfarm MarketThis decade-old branch of the area’s Freshfarm Markets (which operate 11 producer-only markets) is where you’ll find neo-traditionalists such as Sarah Gordon and Sheila Fain of Gordy’s Pickle Jar, who celebrate the rebirth of an old craft in their Sweet Pepper Relish and Hot Chili Spears.

Updated ClassicsSouthern fare reimagined by chefs who mine the past and push the envelope.

Ted’s BulletinThe wall-projected black-and-white movies and broadsheet menu featuring clever takes on diner fare give a taste of bygone America. But the biggest draw may be the cocktails masquerading as milk shakes, including the Dirty Girl Scout, a smooth “thin mint” made with peppermint schnapps.

Bourbon SteakAt this swank spot in the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, chef Adam Sobel supplies the kitchen from its own 1,000-square-foot garden along the C&O Canal. There, he grows more than 40 different herbs as well as heirloom tomatoes and chiles. Try his chicken-fried veal, layered with pickled green tomatoes, sautéed okra, and tomato gravy studded with toasted sorghum seeds.

Founding FarmersThe days of the stodgy power breakfasts are over. At least they are in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, where a democratic mix of locals and lobbyists fuel their day with chef Joe Goetz’s fried-to-order beignets and the hybrid high point: griddled red velvet pancakes topped with dreamy whipped cream cheese butter.

Seasonal PantryDaniel O’Brien works from his vintage Southern cookbook collection at his neighborhood market by day, supper club by night. He puts up green tomato jam and relish for the market and makes shrimp and crab with dirty rice for the supper club. But there’s only one seating for a handful of guests, and tickets become available online no more than two weeks before the dinner. You’ve been warned.

Hank’s Oyster BarChef Jamie Leeds’ classic coastal style includes seasonal staples such as Chesapeake Bay rockfish, Maryland’s official state fish. But the star is Jamie’s signature oyster, the meaty and mild Hayden’s Reef, developed in collaboration with Dragon Creek Aqua Farm. The don’t-miss side: Old Bay fries, sprinkled with Maryland’s distinctive seasoning.

Rappahannock Oyster Bar at Union MarketRun by the fourth generation of the Croxton family, this sleek seafood stall features farm-raised boutique oysters. You’ll also find an assortment of chowders, D.C. brews, and understandably, more people than seats.

COMMENTS

Republic Kolache Aims to Bring the Czech-Texan Pastry to D.C. | Everything Country

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May 7, 2015 at 10:03 am

Mark Offten

When did D.C. become the South? I am so glad I didn’t renew my subscription to your bogus magazine about five years ago.

August 21, 2014 at 12:28 am

www.hlwiker.com

At yesterday’s HealthCamp DC, an enthusiastic mixture of a lot more than a hundred doctors, nurses, patients, innovators, bloggers and much more came collectively for an energetic day of un-conference collaboration and discussion. The event included a quick press conference in which among other speakers, Dr. Mohammad Akhter, director for Washington, D.C.’s Division of Health, shared the official proclamation of Health Information
and Innovation Week using a standing-room-only crowd.
A slide present on the day could be viewed right
here.

Although these restaurants sound great, and although technically DC is sort of, kind of, South . . . I was really surprised to see this featured in Southern Living. It isn’t really a southern story at all. Great article . . . but not specific to our region.